The great era of piracy in the Caribbean extends from around 1560 up until the 1720s. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1640s until the 1680s. There were pirates, privateers and buccaneers.A pirate was a sea robber who on his own without permission. A privateer was a private individual who owned and officered an armed ship commissioned by the government and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of enemy merchant shipping vessels.
By 1550, Spain controlled the West Indies and large areas of the South American mainland. As a result, bands of English, Dutch, and French pirates robbed Spain's ships and looted its settlements. Other European countries were eager to colonize the newly discovered Americas led to an outbreak of piracy on the Caribbean Sea. Pirates sailed the Caribbean for over 300 years.
Piracy did not only take place on the sea.Sometimes pirates would attack Spanish colonies. They would ransack the towns, pillaging and taking away as many valuables as could be found. Pirates held a Spanish town ransom until all inhabitants gave them all of their wealth in exchange for their lives.
During the early 1600's, French, English, Dutch, and other European sailors settled on Hispaniola, Tortue Island (also called Tortuga Island), and other Caribbean islands. They raided Spanish ships and towns and soon became known as buccaneers. Their numbers grew, and eventually no town was safe along the Spanish Main, an area that included the coasts of what are now Colombia and Venezuela. The Spanish could not afford a sufficient military presence to control the area or enforce their trading laws. This led to constant smuggling and colonization in peacetime, and if a war was declared there was widespread piracy and privateering throughout the Caribbean. To combat this, from the 1560s the Spanish adopted a convoy system — a treasure fleet (flota) would sail annually from Seville (and later from Cádiz), carrying passengers, troops, and European goods to the colonies of the new world. The classic route in the Caribbean was through the Lesser Antilles to the ports along the Spanish Main, then northwards into the Yucatan Channel to catch the westerlies back to Europe. Pirates were more likely to shadow the fleet to attack stragglers than try and seize the main vessels.
Among these robbers were the "sea dogs" sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England to raid Spanish fleets. They included such famous English captains as Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins. These raiders committed acts of piracy before the queen declared war on Spain and made them privateers. A Privateer is a privately owned armed vessel. Before the development of strong navies, many nations commissioned privately owned ships to assist them in time of war. The privateers attacked merchant ships of the enemy nation and sank or robbed them. Unlike pirates, privateers operated with their government's permission. The officers and crew of such a privateer could keep a large part or all of the money from the captured vessels. When a privateer was less successful the temptation to become a pirate, and attack every ship in sight regardless of what nation, was often great. There was not much difference between pirates and privateers in the Caribbean at that time. The distance between the Caribbean area and the European nations prevented the latter from exerting much control on the privateers.
Spain was also at war with the Netherlands. Holland was a trading nation so it already had many ships plying the Caribbean sea routes and between 1569 and 1609 Dutch privateers were also very active in the region. The Dutch were a major presence but they were mainly there to trade rather than to colonize. Even so, Dutch pirates proved to be a headache for the Spanish and diverted enough Spanish ships for the British and French to colonize most of the Lesser Antilles. Eventually the Spanish chased the Dutch out of the Caribbean.
The Spanish Caribbean empire was in decline from the 1600s. and the Spanish presence in the Caribbean began to decline at a faster rate, becoming more dependent on African slave labour and with a reduced military presence. Meanwhile, other nations began to become more established — Barbados, the first colony, was established as was a colony on Providence Island in 1625. It soon became a haven for pirates.(n.b. althought Barbados was the first British colony, St Kitts was the first successfully settled British Caribbean colony. It is referred to as the mother of the British Caribbean colonies).
The end of widespread conflict in Europe left most of the nations in a dreadful state, especially Spain which had bankrupted the state. This was reflected in the Caribbean with both a constant influx of European refugees and the shrinking of Spanish power. While the major cities of the region were still Spanish, the surrounding Caribbean islands were being overrun by other nations' more aggressive expansion. The English had expanded beyond Barbados, with successful colonies on St. Kitts ( from 1623) and Nevis (from 1628), Antigua (from 1632), Montserrat, and Bermuda. The French were well established on Guadeloupe, Hispaniola and Martinique and they nominally held Tortuga, a noted pirate base from the 1640s. The Dutch had remained an almost baseless trading presence in the area but following the Spanish decline they became established at Curaçao and St. Eustatius.
The Caribbean continued to reflect European policy shifts. As England, France and Holland became stronger they moved from fighting the Spanish over religion to fighting each other over economics.
Smuggling
Local Caribbean smugglers sold their tobacco or sugar for decent prices and then bought manufactured goods from the trans-Atlantic traders in large quantities to be dispersed among the colonists of the West Indies and the Spanish Main who were eager for a little touch of home. The effects of European rivalry
(1)Illegal trade, armed assault and colonisation combined to end Spain's monoploy of the America's
(2) The fight for colonies broke the Caribbean into a region ruled by different European countries, diminished the Amerindian population and introduced African slavery.
(3) After the Dutch were thrown out from the Caribbean, this paved the way for the serious battles between the English and the French (Anglo-French battles). Related past paper questiions
1. Read the passage below, then answer the questions that follow
England , France and Holland were Spain's strongest enemies. As Spain became weaker during the 1600's and 1700's, her enemies fought Spain and each other over the riches of the colonies in the Caribbean. Many colonies changed hands. Warfare among the European powers had important effects on the settlers in the Caribbean.
(a) Give TWO ways in which Spain's enemies tried to share in the wealth of her Caribbean colonies in the 1600's.
(b) State TWO steps which Spain took to protect her trade and settlements in the Caribbean in the 1600's.
(c) Give TWO effects that warfare had on the lives of Caribbean settlers during the 1700's.
The great era of piracy in the Caribbean extends from around 1560 up until the 1720s. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1640s until the 1680s. There were pirates, privateers and buccaneers.A pirate was a sea robber who on his own without permission. A privateer was a private individual who owned and officered an armed ship commissioned by the government and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of enemy merchant shipping vessels.
By 1550, Spain controlled the West Indies and large areas of the South American mainland. As a result, bands of English, Dutch, and French pirates robbed Spain's ships and looted its settlements. Other European countries were eager to colonize the newly discovered Americas led to an outbreak of piracy on the Caribbean Sea. Pirates sailed the Caribbean for over 300 years.
Piracy did not only take place on the sea.Sometimes pirates would attack Spanish colonies. They would ransack the towns, pillaging and taking away as many valuables as could be found. Pirates held a Spanish town ransom until all inhabitants gave them all of their wealth in exchange for their lives.
During the early 1600's, French, English, Dutch, and other European sailors settled on Hispaniola, Tortue Island (also called Tortuga Island), and other Caribbean islands. They raided Spanish ships and towns and soon became known as buccaneers. Their numbers grew, and eventually no town was safe along the Spanish Main, an area that included the coasts of what are now Colombia and Venezuela. The Spanish could not afford a sufficient military presence to control the area or enforce their trading laws. This led to constant smuggling and colonization in peacetime, and if a war was declared there was widespread piracy and privateering throughout the Caribbean. To combat this, from the 1560s the Spanish adopted a convoy system — a treasure fleet (flota) would sail annually from Seville (and later from Cádiz), carrying passengers, troops, and European goods to the colonies of the new world. The classic route in the Caribbean was through the Lesser Antilles to the ports along the Spanish Main, then northwards into the Yucatan Channel to catch the westerlies back to Europe. Pirates were more likely to shadow the fleet to attack stragglers than try and seize the main vessels.
Among these robbers were the "sea dogs" sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England to raid Spanish fleets. They included such famous English captains as Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins. These raiders committed acts of piracy before the queen declared war on Spain and made them privateers. A Privateer is a privately owned armed vessel. Before the development of strong navies, many nations commissioned privately owned ships to assist them in time of war. The privateers attacked merchant ships of the enemy nation and sank or robbed them. Unlike pirates, privateers operated with their government's permission. The officers and crew of such a privateer could keep a large part or all of the money from the captured vessels. When a privateer was less successful the temptation to become a pirate, and attack every ship in sight regardless of what nation, was often great. There was not much difference between pirates and privateers in the Caribbean at that time. The distance between the Caribbean area and the European nations prevented the latter from exerting much control on the privateers.
Spain was also at war with the Netherlands. Holland was a trading nation so it already had many ships plying the Caribbean sea routes and between 1569 and 1609 Dutch privateers were also very active in the region. The Dutch were a major presence but they were mainly there to trade rather than to colonize. Even so, Dutch pirates proved to be a headache for the Spanish and diverted enough Spanish ships for the British and French to colonize most of the Lesser Antilles. Eventually the Spanish chased the Dutch out of the Caribbean.
The Spanish Caribbean empire was in decline from the 1600s. and the Spanish presence in the Caribbean began to decline at a faster rate, becoming more dependent on African slave labour and with a reduced military presence. Meanwhile, other nations began to become more established — Barbados, the first colony, was established as was a colony on Providence Island in 1625. It soon became a haven for pirates.(n.b. althought Barbados was the first British colony, St Kitts was the first successfully settled British Caribbean colony. It is referred to as the mother of the British Caribbean colonies).
The end of widespread conflict in Europe left most of the nations in a dreadful state, especially Spain which had bankrupted the state. This was reflected in the Caribbean with both a constant influx of European refugees and the shrinking of Spanish power. While the major cities of the region were still Spanish, the surrounding Caribbean islands were being overrun by other nations' more aggressive expansion. The English had expanded beyond Barbados, with successful colonies on St. Kitts ( from 1623) and Nevis (from 1628), Antigua (from 1632), Montserrat, and Bermuda. The French were well established on Guadeloupe, Hispaniola and Martinique and they nominally held Tortuga, a noted pirate base from the 1640s. The Dutch had remained an almost baseless trading presence in the area but following the Spanish decline they became established at Curaçao and St. Eustatius.
The Caribbean continued to reflect European policy shifts. As England, France and Holland became stronger they moved from fighting the Spanish over religion to fighting each other over economics.
Smuggling
Local Caribbean smugglers sold their tobacco or sugar for decent prices and then bought manufactured goods from the trans-Atlantic traders in large quantities to be dispersed among the colonists of the West Indies and the Spanish Main who were eager for a little touch of home.
The effects of European rivalry
(1)Illegal trade, armed assault and colonisation combined to end Spain's monoploy of the America's
(2) The fight for colonies broke the Caribbean into a region ruled by different European countries, diminished the Amerindian population and introduced African slavery.
(3) After the Dutch were thrown out from the Caribbean, this paved the way for the serious battles between the English and the French (Anglo-French battles).
Related past paper questiions
1. Read the passage below, then answer the questions that follow
England , France and Holland were Spain's strongest enemies. As Spain became weaker during the 1600's and 1700's, her enemies fought Spain and each other over the riches of the colonies in the Caribbean. Many colonies changed hands. Warfare among the European powers had important effects on the settlers in the Caribbean.
(a) Give TWO ways in which Spain's enemies tried to share in the wealth of her Caribbean colonies in the 1600's.
(b) State TWO steps which Spain took to protect her trade and settlements in the Caribbean in the 1600's.
(c) Give TWO effects that warfare had on the lives of Caribbean settlers during the 1700's.